After the War
by YseniaHufflepuff
Summary: The story of Margaret Windsor, a first year student attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after the Second Wizarding War. The story follows her as she makes new friends and faces the prejudices and wounds left behind by the Death Eaters and their infamous leader.
1. Wand Shopping

The wand chooses the wizard, or so they say.

Margaret never quite understood what that meant, despite hearing it from her family for most of her life. Her mother said she'd understand when she was older. Her father, a Muggleborn, just shrugged and admitted he never quite understood it either. Her elder brother had tried to explain it once, but Alex wasn't good at explaining things to start with. She supposed that once she was to pick her own wand, it would at least make a little more sense. That was why Ollivander's was the first place she dragged her parents to when they arrived at Diagon Alley that morning. Her brother, already possessing a wand, wandered off to Quality Quidditch Supplies. They had the new Windbolts and Nimbus 3000s on display in the shop window, and he'd spotted a cluster of his friends.

The little wand shop was dusty and dim, crowded with little boxes and smelling heavily of sawdust and resin. Mr. Ollivander smiled at the family from the counter, moving around shakily to take Margaret's measurements. Mum said that the Second War was hard on him. That much was clear in the way his voice trembled, and the fact that he had to stop to rest every few steps. He even startled now and then at a loud noise from outside the shop. All the same, he seemed eager to help as he pulled box after box from the shelf and handed the wands inside to the girl to try.

"Let's start with this. Beech and phoenix feather, nine and one-quarter inches. Springy."

Nothing.

"Oh well. Here, try this one. Mahogany and dragon heart string, eleven and one-half inches. Good for transfiguration."

Nope.

"Alder and unicorn tail hair, ten and three-quarter inches."

"Oak and dragon heart string, ten inches."

"Birch and unicorn hair, eleven and one-quarter inches."

"Cedar and phoenix feather, ten and one-half inches."

Not even a spark, not from the wands anyway. Mr. Ollivander seemed to think that they were getting closer though. he shuffled off into the back of the shop, as if an idea had struck him. That was good. Mum had long ago taken off to get Margaret's other supplies, and Margaret herself was getting frustrated. Dad didn't seem concerned but then, nothing ever seemed to rustle his jimmies. Suppose that's why he was a Hufflepuff back in his day. Finally, Mr. Ollivander came back with one more box. He set it on the counter and flipped it open before handing the wand inside to her.

"I just finished crafting this one last night - had a feeling I'd be needing it today."

Even before Margaret touched it, she had a feeling that this was the one. It became an extension of her arm as soon as she wrapped her fingers around it.

"Go on, give it a wave," Mr. Ollivander said. The wand made a whistling noise as she whipped it through the air. A mass of blue and lilac sparks shot from the end. Dad looked very pleased and frail Mr. Ollivander actually clapped.

"That's the one, that's just the ticket!" he was saying, "I knew we'd get it soon enough!"

Margaret insisted that she be allowed to pay for it herself. It cost a whole ten Galleons, almost all of her leftover birthday money, but she didn't care! The wand was a symbol, a symbol that she was finally going to be a witch inher own right!

Hazel and phoenix feather, 12 and one-quarter inches, and it had chosen her.


	2. The Sorting

Margaret's first ride on the Hogwarts Express had been some of the best fun she'd had in her short life. Alex, a seventh year in Hufflepuff, had let her sit with him and a few of his friends. They'd shared all sorts of stories about their first years, and they had kept her company when Alex had to leave for a little bit to touch base with the people on the Quidditch team. Alex was the captain and had been for three years now. Their parents had been so proud when that shiny badge had arrived with his school letter.

It was raining when they arrived at Hogsmeade Station, a drizzling mist that made everything look foggy around the edges. The first years were gathered up by the massive groundskeeper and herded towards the little boats at the edge of the lake. They were few in number; it had only been three years since Lord Voldemort's demise, and many wizarding families had chosen to home school their children, for safety's sake. Though they huddled in their cloaks for warmth, a chorus of gasps sounded from the little gaggle of children when they passed through the curtain of ivy and got their first good look at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Margaret could have read _Hogwarts, A History_ hundreds of times and she still would have been awestruck by the soaring turrets and glittering windows of the castle.

The first years stuck close together as they were led into the Great Hall. Margaret waved at Alex and his friends, seated at a table draped in yellow and black. The Sorting Hat sang his start-of-term song, and then the Sorting began. Margaret bounced restlessly on the balls of her feet. Her stomach was twisting in nervous knots as the line grew shorter and shorter in front of her. They were going alphabetically and that put her dead last. It seemed like years had passed before the witch with the list finally called out, "Windsor, Margaret!"

Margaret ran for the stool and eagerly plopped down on it. She wiggled in place as she waited for the Sorting Hat to be placed on her head. No sooner had the patchy old thing sank down over her eyes than the rip in the brim opened wide and shouted...

 **"SLYTHERIN!"**

...wait, what?

As the Hat was removed from her head, Margaret's eyes shot to the Hufflepuff table, to her brother. Alex looked confused, but when he made eye contact with his sister he just smile and shrugged. Margaret sat on the stool for several minutes more before the professor nudged her shoulder and directed her to the Slytherin table. With the Sorting over, the feast began. The glittering golden platters were suddenly filled with foods of all sorts. Though the food piled high on the tables looked amazing and smelled even better, Margaret's appetite had left her. She just picked at the roast chicken on her plate. Even dessert, with the massive blocks of ice cream and warm puddings, couldn't stir her appetite.

Margaret sat quietly, staring at her plate. Slytherin. Slytherin. _'There wasn't a witch or wizard went bad that wasn't in Slytherin'._ How many times had she heard that, and from how many people? Her own mother had once said that you couldn't throw a rock at Azkaban without hitting a Slytherin alum. Did that mean she was bad? By the time that the prefects rose to lead everyone back to the dorms to bed, Margaret was ready to cry. She managed to hold it in, right until Alex caught her in the corridor outside the Great Hall.

"Come on Midge, I know that look," he said, giving one of her pigtails a gentle tug, "What's wrong?"

A lump rose in Margaret's throat and unshed tears burned her eyes. "I don't want to be in Slytherin," she said hoarsely, "Only bad comes out of Slytherin." She'd been hoping for Hufflepuff, like her father and brother, or Ravenclaw, like her mother. Anything but Slytherin. The corridor had cleared strangely quickly, and Margaret was grateful for that. Hot tears started trekking down her cheeks. She didn't want anyone to see that. Crying never fixed anything, only babies and brats cried. She wasn't a baby!

Alex sighed and pulled his baby sister into a hug. "Come on Midge, you know that's not true," he said, "Think about it. Peter Pettigrew wasn't a Slytherin. Quirinus Quirrell wasn't in Slytherin. Besides, there's decent Slytherins too you know."

"Everything alright?"

"Speak of the Devil," Alex said as another boy joined them. He was almost as tall as Alex was, though he was thinner and wearing Slytherin robes rather than Hufflepuff as her brother was. There was a Prefect badge pinned to his robes. The boy had a sharp, fox-like face, but the smile he turned on Margaret was kind. "Midge, this is Fidelis Fawcett. He's one of the Prefects for Slytherin. Proof in the flesh that Slytherins can be a decent sort, even if he is a bit stiff now and then." Alex grinned lopsidedly at Fidelis, making the Prefect roll his eyes.

"Your brother's not wrong," Fidelis was saying, "Contrary to popular belief, not everyone that was in Slytherin went bad. Take Merlin, for example. One of the greatest wizards of all time, and he was a Slytherin. Then you have Severus Snape. He risked his life to infiltrate the Death Eaters. There's Professor Slughorn too. Teaches Potions and is our Head of House. A perfectly likable man, especially if you get him some crystallized pineapple."

Alex nodded along as Fidelis spoke, then smiled at his sister. "You see Midge? Slytherins aren't nearly as black as they're painted. Go on, get to bed. You'll feel better in the morning." he nudged Margaret down the hall the way the other Slytherins had gone. She wiped her eyes and nodded, taking off down to the dungeons. She was out of sight and earshot within minutes, so she missed the heavy sigh her brother heaved and the way his confident grin faded to a look of concern.

Fidelis, however, didn't miss it. "Don't look so glum. I'll look out for her," he promised as he turned to follow the girl.

Alex nodded and said softly, "Thanks Del. I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

"Of course. Good night, Alex."

"Good night, love."


	3. Flying Lessons

The first night in Slytherin Dungeon had been a rough ones for the newest first years.

There was only one other student in the first year girls' dorms with Margaret, a pretty blue-eyed girl named Cora Fitzroy. She and Margaret had been equally upset at being Sorted into the 'bad' House of the school. Neither girl had been able to sleep. Instead, they took the blanket and sheets and pillows from their beds and the three empty ones, and made a blanket fort of sorts out of Margaret's four poster. They stayed up late into the night, talking softly. Cora confided that her parents were in Azkaban and she lived with her aunt. She was terrified of ending up like her mother and father. Margaret shared what Alex and Fidelis had told her, and confided her own fears that her parents would be so disappointed in her. When morning came, neither of them wanted to rise to face the day.

The week that followed, however, was not nearly so difficult. Mr. and Mrs. Windsor wrote their children that next morning, telling Margaret that they were proud of her no matter what. Though the other students in their year were still standoffish, Cora and Margaret became friends quite quickly. Fidelis kept up his promise to look out for her, personally walking Margaret and Cora to their classes so they wouldn't get lost. Professor Slughorn turned out to be a fair and friendly teacher indeed. Margaret even earned five points for their house for knowing some of the uses for dragon's blood. History of Magic quickly became Margaret's favourite class, despite Professor Binns' droning voice.

When the weekend came, Cora and Margaret spent most of it with Alex, Fidelis, and their friends. it had taken all of five seconds for Margaret to realize that her brother and the Prefect were more than just good friends. She found it quite amusing to tease them. After she taught Cora the Muggle song about sitting in a tree, they sang it whenever her brother and Fidelis passed by...until Fidelis started threatening to take away points and Alex threatened to toss them both in the lake. Not that she thought he would, of course. It was all in good fun. They also had their fun watching the school's Quidditch teams at practice, swooping and zooming through the sky on their broomsticks. Like most Wizarding children, the two girls loved Quidditch. Cora liked to talk about strategy and tried to guess the players' next moves. Margaret just liked to watch when they flew way up high, then dove back down at breakneck speeds.

The announcement that flying lessons for the first years would start the second week of term was met with obvious excitement. Due to the small size of this year's first year class, all the Houses were going to be taking lessons together.

Margaret practically ran from her Charms class to the courtyard outside where lessons were being held, dragging Cora along with her. School brooms were lined up in the grass, a student placed next to each one. Margaret and Cora stood together, obviously. One Margaret's other side was a short, blonde boy in Ravenclaw robes. He was looking more than a little green around the gills. Margaret had to wonder if he was about to spew his lunch all over the grass at their feet. She shuffled aside a little bit, just in case.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath before he answered him. This time, Margaret was almost sure he was going to vomit. She shifted a little closer to Cora, by now invading her friend's personal space. Instead of vomiting, thankfully, the boy spoke. "Not a fan of heights...but I'm not going to vomit on you. You can stop scooting away like that." Margaret cleared her throat sheepishly and gave Cora her personal space back.

"Sorry," she said to the boy, "Um...I'm Margaret Windsor. What's your name?"

"Daniel. Daniel Jefferies. Aren't you the girl that cried at the Sorting?"

Margaret felt her cheeks burn. She hadn't thought that anyone had seen that. She huffed and snapped back, "At least I don't look like I'm going to lose my lunch over being three feet from the ground!"

Daniel turned just as red as she was and muttered, "Just what I'd expect from a Slytherin."

...ouch. Margaret' shoulders slumped and she asked the Hufflepuff boy standing on Cora's other side to switch places with her. It was a good thing that madam Hooch came along at that point and started the lesson. She would have started tearing up again without something to distract her.

Alex had warned her that the school brooms weren't the best, and he hadn't been lying. Cora got bucked off of hers after getting just a few feet from the ground, and Margaret's kept pulling to the right no matter what she did. They weren't the only two having problems either. One Gryffindor's broom started vibrating if they went too high or stayed up for too long. Daniel had the misfortune of getting a broom that shuddered and jerked randomly. Eventually Madam Hooch allowed him to sit out the first lesson. Otherwise he might very well have been sick all over the grass. Margaret wanted to feel bad for him but frankly, his remark still stung.

She was still dwelling on it at dinnertime when she wiggled into a seat between Cora and Fidelis. The perceptive Prefect picked up on the girl's dour mood. "Everything alright Midge?" he asked her, having picked up Alex's use of her nickname.

Margaret shrugged but Cora said, "A boy was rude to her at flying lessons today."

"Really?" Fidelis asked, smearing butter on a dinner roll, "That's really too bad. What ever for?"

"For no reason!" Margaret pouted.

Fidelis clearly didn't buy that. "No reason? No provocation what so ever?" he asked, staring Margaret right in the eye. She squirmed uncomfortably, like a child that had been caught in a lie. Fidelis just waited patiently, until Margaret dropped her gaze to her plate.

"I wasn't very nice either," she admitted.

"And I suppose you know what needs be done now, then," Fidelis responded, going back to his dinner. Margaret sighed and nodded, getting up from the table.

It wasn't easy to find Daniel at the Ravenclaw table. He was the shortest one there, bar none. Eventually, though, she found him and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't look very thrilled to see her there, and the feeling was mutual. Still, Fidelis was right and they were equally to blame for earlier. If she wanted to keep from falling under the evil Slytherin stereotype then she was going to have to take matters into her own hands.

"I'm sorry for what I said as flying lesson," she said quickly, trying to get it over with, "It was mean and unnecessary."

Daniel stared at her for a moment or two. Then he said, "I'm sorry too. Just 'cause you're a Slytherin doesn't make you bad. I get snippy when I'm scared and flying scares me a lot. I'm sort of a klutz and I don't want to fall off."

Margaret glanced at the Hufflepuff table, where Alex was sitting with his friends and talking rather loudly about the upcoming Quidditch matches. That gave her an idea. "If you want to, I can ask my brother to help you. He's a Chaser on the Hufflepuff team and he does trick-flying too. He can teach you how to stick to a broom really well."

Daniel considered the offer, then smiled at her. "Okay. I can't promise I'll be any good at it but any little bit helps, you know?"

With that, Margaret turned around and walked back to the Slytherin table, having made another new friend.


	4. Losing Points

With both homework and actual Quidditch practice eating up everyone's time, it was Wednesday before Alex was actually free to help Daniel with his flying. Since none of the teams had practice Wednesday afternoons, they decided to use the Quidditch pitch. Cora and Margaret sat on the grass with Fidelis while Alex helped Daniel onto his Cleansweep 20. It wasn't as good as the newest Nimbus models or the Windbolts that had come out last year, but it was a far sight better than the old school brooms. Alex took good care of it, having saved up for most of his third, fourth, and fifth years to buy it.

Fidelis was going to keep watch from the ground, since he was better at the Arresto Momentum spell than Alex was. Alex was going to use Fidelis' broomstick to join Daniel in the air, to keep him steady in case he started to panic. They also had the cure halves of an entire box of Puking Pastilles, just in case he got nauseous. All the same, Daniel was hesitant to get on and get going. Only after large amounts of encouragement from Cora and Margaret and a promise that they'd take him immediately to Madam Pomfrey if something happened did he swing his leg over the broomstick.

Daniel kicked off from the ground as they had been taught, rising a good six feet from the air. He started to wobble until Alex, flying at his side, reached over and took hold of the broomstick and steadied it. "It's all about balance," he said, grinning at the boy, "Like riding a bicycle is! You know how to do that, right?" That was how he had learned to keep his balance, anyway.

After a cautious nod from the boy, Alex let go. Daniel started to wobble again, but not nearly as bad. Alex grinned and said, "Alright. Now we can really get started."

By the time supper rolled around, they had made some progress. Daniel still refused to go higher than six feet or so, but he was able to keep his balance well and he had even gotten in a few slow, steady laps around the Quidditch pitch. It wasn't much but it was more than Madam Hooch had been able to get him to. They made plans for another lesson on that next Saturday afternoon and then headed up to the castle for dinner. Daniel was practically bouncing the entire way.

"I can't believe it! I've never stayed on a broom that long before ever! I have to write home and tell my mum and dad about it!" he was saying as he beamed, "I actually think I'm looking forward to next flying lesson."

"You'll be showing Madam Hooch what you can do tomorrow, that's for sure," Fidelis said, one corner of his mouth pulled up in a half-grin, "By the end of the year I'm sure you'll be flying as well as anyone in that class."

Daniel and Alex ended up joining them at the Slytherin table for supper, to keep the conversation going. It wasn't unusual for Alex to join them but Daniel's company drew a few looks. Slytherin House was currently the smallest of the Houses as far as sheer numbers went, so the addition of two outsiders was easy to spot. Still, no one said anything. Slytherins were known for their willingness to use any method to achieve their ends. When the end in this case was repairing a heavily damaged reputation, they were willing to go so far as to make friends outside of their House.

The only one that really had anything to say about it was another student from Ravenclaw, an older girl that wore a Prefect badge. She got up from the table when someone else nudged her and pointed out their wayward first year. "Mr. Jefferies," she said to the boy, "Have you gotten lost? Our table is over there."

Margaret didn't like this girl. She carried herself in a way that made it clear that she had quite a high opinion of herself. She seemed very – what was the word? – haughty. When Daniel answered her, she looked as if she took personal offense to his statement.

"I wanted to sit with my friends. There isn't a rule saying I can't."

"He's not wrong, Arielle," Fidelis said to the girl, "There's plenty of room and no rules saying that he isn't allowed to sit here." It was expected of students to sit at their own tables, of course, but not enforced. That rule had gone out the window in an attempt to foster inter-House relationships. This Arielle girl, however, didn't seem to like that very much.

"Very well," she said, "But I'll be taking five points for your backtalk, Daniel. Do learn to watch your attitude." A soft tinkling sound came from the hourglasses against one wall as five sparkling sapphires floated from the bottom up into the top of the Ravenclaw points hourglass.

"She can't really do that, can she?" Cora asked, watching as Arielle went back to the Ravenclaw table. That was just so…rude!

Daniel looked as if he had been slapped across the face, staring after the Prefect with his mouth agape. Alex and Fidelis both shrugged and Alex explained, "Arielle's always had something of a broomstick up her arse. Girl walks around with her nose so high in the air it's a miracle no one's owl has gotten stuck up there."

"You'll earn the points back," Fidelis assured the diminutive boy, "One or two clever answers in class. Perhaps you'll even impress Madam Hooch with your flying skills."

Daniel nodded, but it was clear that he was no longer in the buoyant mood he'd been in earlier. He picked at his dinner and went back to Ravenclaw Tower as soon as the meal was over. Margaret watched him go, then turned and looked over at the Ravenclaw Table. Arielle was clearly abusing her Prefect power.

Something was going to need to be done about that…


	5. Too Far

September and October passed quietly, save for the Arielle incident and Daniel's continued extra flying lessons. Margaret and Cora never bothered to take down their blanket fort, though they suspected the school house elves took the time to take it down and replace their 'walls' with clean sheets whenever they cleaned up. They spent their nights much they same as they had that first night, doing homework and playing games until they fell asleep. Cora was quite good at Gobstones, though she let Margaret win now and then. They also spent a large portion of their evenings just talking. The prominent topic of conversation for most of the month was the Ravenclaw Prefect that was becoming an increasingly annoying thorn in their side.

Arielle almost seemed to be looking for reasons to get the two of them in trouble, particularly when Daniel was around. It had become crystal clear that she didn't approve of him making friends outside of his House, and with Slytherins no less! Every time they saw her, it was almost guaranteed they'd lose points.

It didn't seem like much - 5 points for breaking dress code here, 5 points for taking a library book outside there - but by mid-October Slytherin was trailing in House points. Margaret was willing to bet that most of the points lost from Slytherin came from Arielle. That had to stop. Putting their three heads together, they had a plan hatched before too long. They just needed to wait for the perfect time.

Halloween dawned bright and chill and breezy. The trees of the Forbidden Forest shed their leaves and between breaks students gathered them up into large piles to jump into and crunch around in. Halloween fell on a Wednesday again, so that meant after classes that Margaret, Cora, Daniel, Alex, and Fidelis trooped out to the Quidditch pitch. Daniel had gotten very confident as far as his flying went and Alex had promised to teach all three how to do some simple tricks today. Fidelis declined to join them, instead watching from the ground in case someone fell. So, the three first years took turns on his broom while the other two rode the least problematic of the school's brooms.

The afternoon would have been fantastic if not for an uninvited guest. Arielle came running out onto the filed just before dinnertime, shouting at the lot of them to get their feet on solid ground, and now. Alex, however, told them to stay in the air and instead just hovered at eye level with the girl. "What's the damn problem now, Grambling?" he asked her. Much like his sister, he'd had about enough of the Prefect picking on the three children just because she didn't like Slytherins.

"First years aren't supposed to be flying outside of lessons," she responded, "I'm going to have to take points for this you know. Five from each of them and I think twenty-five from you, Alex. You should know better. The only reason I'm not taking any from you, Fidelis, is because Prefects aren't allowed to take from each other."

"Neither is making up rules, but that's never stopped you," Fidelis responded, just as fed up with his fellow Prefect as everyone else. He took his position very seriously and Arielle was making a travesty of it! She'd become unbearable to do hallway patrols with. "I've half a mind to talk to Professor Sinistra and Headmistress McGonagall about this _blatant_ harassment."

Arielle glared at him, but then smiled coldly. "You go right ahead," she said sweetly, "Why, we could even go to the headmistress together! I've been meaning to talk to her and your Heads of House about what you and Alex do when you're alone in the prefect's bathroom together. You boys really should be more discreet. You know what a terrible gossip the stained-glass mermaid is."

Fidelis' composure dropped for the first time since Margaret had met him and he turned a shade of red to rival a Quaffle. He attempted to respond but ended up looking like a goldfish. He quickly closed his mouth and looked away at the ground. By then, Alex'd had enough. He beckoned to Margaret and her friends to land. "Go up to the castle," he said to the three, "You'll miss dinner if you lollygag much longer." He cut off any attempts to protest and sent them on their way. Margaret couldn't ever remember her brother looking so angry. She looked over her shoulder as they left. The last thing Margaret saw was Alex attempting to reason with Arielle.

"She has gone too far this time," Margaret said as they made their way up the grounds. Cora and Daniel nodded in agreement. Taking points from them was one thing. Blackmailing Alex and Del to keep them quiet about it was quite another.

"I'm guessing we put the plan in action then?" Cora asked, producing a small box from inside her robes. She'd ordered a few things by owl when she and Margaret had started planning their revenge on Arielle for being so mean. Talking to the professors had been their plan A, of course, but not anymore. If Arielle wanted to play dirty then they would too!

The box was handed over to Daniel. Its contents rattled slightly as he tucked it away in his inner robe pocket. Dinner time was the perfect time to carry out their plan. Arielle was never going to see this one coming...


	6. Trick or Treat

Arielle, Alex, and Fidelis didn't come to dinner until halfway through the meal. They all looked uncharacteristically somber. Alex split off to the Huflepuff table, Arielle to Ravenclaw, and Fidelis sat down at the Slytherin table across from Margaret and Cora. He still looked a bit pink in the cheeks but had gathered his composure again. He ate with the same painfully proper manners as usual. However, he wasn't nearly as talkative. He didn't even say a word to explain to the first years what had happened on the pitch after they had departed. whatever had happened couldn't have ben good. Margaret and Cora exchange a glance, then looked over at the Ravenclaw table.

Daniel had managed to seat himself close to where Arielle usually sat during meals. This was crucial for part one of their plan. They'd discovered that Daniel had a knack for Muggle sleight-of-hand. He'd switched the teacup at Arielle's place out for another without being caught. Arielle picked it up and attempted to drink from it, only to let out a shocked yelp and drop it. Cora and Margaret barely managed to keep down a laugh as the Nose-Biting Teacup clattered to the floor. It was a good thing for them that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was still in business and their owl-order business was going strong.

Arielle was positively indignant that someone had dared play such a trick on her. She might have gone on the warpath right then if her Housemates hadn't calmed her down. Just a harmless Halloween prank, they said as they urged Arielle to settled down. Dessert was being served then and the tables were absolutely piled with pies, pastries, biscuits, cakes, candied apples, and mountains of sweets. The uppity prefect huffed, but settled back down. Margaret, Cora, and Daniel had been waiting for this. They'd picked up on the fact that Arielle loved toffees almost as much as she loved picking on the three of them. The teacup had just been a distraction while Daniel placed an innocent looking dish of brightly wrapped toffees on the table right near Arielle's plate. The three of them watched as Arielle selected one and unwrapped it, popping the sweet into her mouth.

She didn't react right away. Arielle swallowed the treat and looked like she might be on her way to a better mood. Then, she paused, looking as if she might be sick. Arielle opened her mouth, revealing that her tongue had turned a bright shade of purple and was swelling and growing longer at an alarming rate. This time, Margaret and Cora couldn't contain their laughter. They collapsed into satisfied giggles at seeing their tormentor looking so frantic. Their laughter just got louder, turning into breathless shrieks as Arielle grabbed the nearest wand to cast the counter-curse. As soon as she waved it, however, the wand became a rubber chicken in her hand.

Arielle's tongue was nearly two feet long by now, causing quite the stir at her table and the ones around it. Daniel managed to sneak away and joined Margaret and Cora. The boy was almost breathless from how hard he'd been laughing. Fidelis glanced at the three of them and muttered, "...you didn't." Rather than impressed by their prank, like they had been expecting, he just looked shocked. Professor Flitwick had hurried down from the staff table, though his - ahem - short stature meant that Ariel's tongue was almost four feet long by the time he got to it. Arielle coughed and sputtered indignantly, flinging the rubber chicken across the room. Clearly, she was upset, but much to Margaret's and Cora's surprise, she looked more embarrassed than furious. She even started crying before she finally fled the Great Hall.

Fidelis watched her go, then turned to Margaret, Cora, and Daniel. "You three, come with me, now," he said as he got to his feet. They were able to slip out of the Great Hall without being noticed, thanks to the Ravenclaw table still being astir. Margaret, Cora, and Daniel exchanged looks as they followed, their mirth completely gone by that point. Fidelis lead the trio to the nearest empty classroom, shutting the door firmly behind them. Before he spoke to them, he took his wand from inside his robes and pointed it at the door. Fidelis muttered, "Colloportus. Muffliato," as he gave a sharp flick of his wand, enchanting the door so that it couldn't be opened and they couldn't be eavesdropped on. Then he turned to the trio of now very nervous first years.

"Have you three gone absolutely mad?" he asked them, shaking his head, "Pulling petty pranks like that, and on a Prefect no less!"

"But she started it!" Cora protested, "She's been picking on us for weeks, even you and Alex were upset with her!"

Margaret nodded and added, "She tried to blackmail you both! Aren't you mad too?"

"Of course I am!" Fidelis snapped. The first years jumped, and he sighed, realizing that he was letting his temper get away from him. Fidelis took a deep breathe and continued, "I'm absolutely furious with her. The fact that she'd have the gall to try and hold something like...like _that_ over our heads makes me sick to my stomach. What Alex and I do when we're alone is no one's business but our own. However, I realize that there are bigger things to consider here. Margaret, do you remember your first night here?"

Margaret nodded, though she still didn't see where he was going with this.

"Slytherin's reputation had you so upset that you cried. Now, you and I both have to put up with that, as do you, Cora. If word gets out that two of the three people at the core of this incident are Slytherins, do you think that's going to help matters at all?"

Oh. Oh dear. Now it was abundantly clear what the elder student was getting at. Cora and Margaret both paled, and Daniel almost looked sick. Fidelis gave them a moment for it to really sink in before he continued.

"You three are young, mistakes happen. The only reason I'm not taking points or informing a teacher that it was you lot is because of that. Arielle's behavior lately has been unacceptable but so has yours. Ton-tongue toffees and trick wands...heavens." Fidelis sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He shook his head again, then turned and dispelled the locking charm on the door. "Go on, back to your common rooms. What's done is done, I just hope you three learn a lesson here."


	7. Arielle

Though they had gotten away without losing points or being given detention, Margaret and her friends didn't escape the consequences of their actions.

Alex put a stop to the extra flying lessons until they apologized to Arielle, something the three of them were hesitant to do. Fidelis had also stopped showing them any extra favours as well. In fact, he almost seemed to be avoiding them altogether, Alex included! The Hufflepuff's usually energetic mood had been rather subdued since Halloween. Margaret suspected it was because of Arielle's threat. The only good thing to have come out of everything was the fact that Arielle wasn't picking on them anymore, and even that wasn't because of their prank. Fidelis had gone to the headmistress the next morning and Arielle had been given detention and threatened with losing her Prefect position. Daniel said that she now spent most of her time in the Tower hiding in the girl's dormitory.

All in all, their moment of victory ended up costing the trio rather dearly. Margaret supposed it was what they deserved for sinking to such lows. The other Slytherins even seemed to look down on them for what they had done, causing such damage to their House's already tarnished reputation. As time went by, it became clear that apologizing to Arielle was going to be their best bet at fixing what they'd broken. If only the thought didn't make the three of them collectively sick to their stomachs.

it was November before the three of them finally decided that they needed to swallow their collective prides and set things to rights. What had finally prompted their change of heart was an argument that they were certain none of them were supposed to overhear - an argument between Fidelis and Alex. They had been on their way to the Quidditch pitch for the first match of the season, Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff. They'd paused, however, when they heard two familiar someone arguing in a little antechamber off the Great Hall.

"...absolutely ridiculous, she was practically asking for it!" Alex was saying, the tone of his voice making it clear he was quite frustrated with whomever he was talking to.

That turned out to be Fidelis, who sounded equally irritated. "That doesn't matter. There were better ways to handle things, and instead they resorted to childish pranks."

"They _are_ children, for fuck's sake, they're eleven years old!"

"Old enough to know better. I'd hoped your sister at least would stop to think about the consequences-"

"Don't you blame Midge. Don't you _dare_." Margaret bit her lip. Alex sounded almost as upset now as he did when Arielle had interrupted their flying lessons. By that point, she couldn't listen anymore. She ran outside, followed by her friends. Her little heart was racing and she felt sick qith guilt. Their tones were hushed by it was pretty clear that her brother and his boyfriend were on the verge of a blowout argument and it was all her fault!

"We messed up," she said, wringing her hands together, "We messed up bad, you guys. I gotta find Arielle. I gotta fix things."

"We," Cora corrected her, "We have to fix things."

Daniel nodded and said, "We're all at fault here. I think Arielle's up in the Tower still. We should go now, while everyone else is at the Quidditch match...wait, hide!"

Daniel dragged them both into the shrubbery as the doors behind them opened again. Alex stormed out and headed for the Quidditch pitch. He looked upset and if Margaret didn't know better, she'd suspect he was crying. Fidelis wasn't with him and though they waited for a few minutes, Fidelis didn't follow either. I hope that's not a bad sign, Margaret thought. All the same, the three of them practically ran to ravenclaw Tower...not exactly a good idea. They were gasping for breath by the time they topped the spiraling staircase. It took them a few minutes before Daniel was able to gasp out the answer to the door knocker's current riddle.

"You two gotta go up and get here," Daniel said as he flopped down into one of the armchairs in Ravenclaw's common room, "Boys and girls can't get into each other's dorms." He pointed them towards the stairs that lead to the girl's dormitory. Cora and Margaret went up the stairs, passing by the empty rooms for the lower years, until they reached the sixth year girls' dorm. The door was locked but the room wasn't empty. They could hear someone inside when they pressed their ears against the door, but couldn't tell who it was. There was one way to find out, though.

When Margaret knocked, Arielle's voice came from inside. "Go away Sarah, I said I don't want to go to the stupid game!"

"Um...we're not Sarah," Cora called back.

After a bit of shuffling, the lock clicked open and Arielle practically threw the door open. "What are you two doing in here?" she asked them, "You know students aren't allowed in common rooms that aren't theirs! Trying to get me in more trouble?"

Margaret frowned back at the older girl. No one had gotten her in trouble but herself and her awful behavior! She might have very well said so if Cora hadn't spoken up first. "We wanted to apologize," she said quickly, digging her elbow into Margaret's ribs, "We played a mean prank on you and we're sorry."

Margaret rubbed he now sore spot on her side, but nodded in agreement. "We're really, really sorry. It was stupid and immature of us."

Arielle frowned at them for a moment, looking back and forth between the two girls. She seemed to be looking for signs that they were lying, or that this was another trap. eventually, however, she said, "I'm the one that should be apologizing. Is Daniel downstairs? You should all hear this."

She didn't bother waiting for an answer, instead stepping past the pair and making her way into the common room. Daniel sat upright when the three girls came downstairs. He looked like he was expecting a lecture. Letting Cora and Margaret into the Tower was against the rules, after all. Arielle motioned to the two girls to sit down and took a seat herself. She was wearing an oversized jumper and she fidgeted with the hem while waiting for the three to get settled. Something was clearly weighing heavily on her mind.

"I've had a lot of time lately to think about things," she started out, looking down at the starry carpet at their feet, "The way I treated you three was incredibly unfair. You three are too young to have been here at the time but Hogwarts was an awful place once. Things happened to me and I let those things color my judgement. I was being way too overly protective about our first year students. I didn't want them falling in with the wrong people. Margaret, Cora, you're not bad people. I am."

Silence followed that simple statement. It was clear what Arielle was talking about. Margaret had only been eight years old, but she remembered how frightened and worried sick over her brother their parents had been when the Death Eaters had take over the school. Alex had fled with the other underaged students before the final battle at the school, but he hadn't gotten away unscathed. He still had nightmares sometimes, and he had a scar on the back of his hand from Dolores Umbridge's draconian detention methods and use of her Blood Quill. Arielle would have suffered those torments as well. That hadn't even occurred to her until just that moment.

It was Cora that spoke first. "You're not a bad person," she said, "I know what bad people are like. My parents were terrible people. You're not like them. Not at all."

Not for the first time, Margaret wondered what it was that had landed Cora's mother and father in Azkaban. She hadn't ever said, and that wasn't exactly something you asked a person. For now, though, they had other things to take care of. Arielle stood up and blinked rapidly, clearing away tears that had been threatening to fall. "Let's go find your brother and Fidelis," she said as she headed for the door of the Tower.

"I have more apologies to make."


	8. Apologies All Around

A/N: Hi ya'll, Ysenia here! Thanks for sticking with the story so far! We'll be wrapping up Margaret's first year in the next few chapter updates. Please let me know if you've got some constructive criticism, opinions, or thoughts to share with me!

Arielle had apologized to Margaret and her friends, and vice cersa, but things did not return to normal right away. They had to wait until after the Quidditch match for her to be able to speak to Alex, and the match did not go well. Hufflepuff ended up getting soundly trounced by Gryffindor, losing with a score of 170 to 20. They had missed the start of the match, but it was clear from what they did see that Alex didn't have his head in the game at all. He dropped the Quaffle more than Margaret had ever seen him do so before. Even the team noted that their captain wasn't on his. When the match was over, Margaret and the others found out why.

Apparently,though Alex had agreed that the pranks had been taking things too far, he didn't understand why Fidelis had been so upset by them. That was the argument that the three first years had eavesdropped on, and because of it, the two were on the verge of a messy breakup. Needless to say, Margaret's guilt came back in full force. While Arielle agreed with him that she ahd deserved the childrens' pranks, once Margaret explained what Fidelis had said to her, Alex was able t understand a little better.

"I suppose it really wasn't that hard to understand in the first place," he was saying as they made their way back to the castle, "We both got a lot of guff when we started dating, from people prejudiced against Slytherins and for...other reasons. Point is, I feel like a right git." That sounded more like the brother Margaret knew. Alex could have his temperamental moments, but she'd never known him to hold a grudge or to remain angry at someone for long. Like Arielle, Alex supposed that he had some apologizing to do. They just had to find Fidelis first.

Cora and Margaret went to the Slytherin common room, but he wasn't there. One of the boys checked the dorms too but he wasn't there either. The library showed no sign of him and he wasn't anywhere in the corridors that they could find. The five of them combed the castle for hours, receiving help from the ghosts (and hindrances from Peeves, that irritating poltergeist). Eventually it became clear that Fidelis wasn't anywhere in the castle itself. Alex had an idea of where he was, though. He sent his sister and her friends off to dinner, and Arielle as well. Then he went outside and headed for the greenhouses.

As he had predicted, Fidelis was alone in greenhouse number three. Herbology always had been his best subject and this wasn't the first time that he'd come to the greenhouse when he was upset. It was warm and humid in the greenhouse despite the autumnal chill outside. Fidelis was working on something in the far back corner, his robe draped over a chair and his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Alex wrinkled his nose at the sharp, unpleasant smell of dragon dung. He edged around the Venomous Tentacula and gave it a sharp slap when it tried to grab at him. A glance over Fidelis' shoulder showed that he was fertilizing a bed of moly flowers.

"Del?" he said quietly, "Got a minute? I need to say something."

"I suppose," Fidelis responded. He peeled off his dragon skin gloves, setting them aside with the dragon dung. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned around, leaning back against the workbench. It was clear that he was still upset with Alex over their earlier argument. He hadn't even gone to the Quidditch game. Fidelis waited for Alex to speak, watching him expectantly.

Alex shuffled his feet on the floor, shrugging off his Quidditch robe and pulling at a loose thread on his black and yellow striped jumper. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry. I was being a stupid git. I thought you were overreacting and you weren't and...I'm sorry."

"You should be," Fidelis said softly, "Do you remember that first year back after Hogwarts was rebuilt? There were so few of us that year. So many had died, and so many others were afraid to come back. Do you remember what happened to the first years Sorted into Slytherin that year?"

"They were booed. They were jeered at. Judged to be wicked before they even had a chance." Fidelis reached over and plucked one of the moly blossoms, twirling the black stem between his thumb and forefinger. "I still remember how long it took you to convince me to go out with you because I was so sure it was all just a nasty trick. Our founder and those that followed him have given us a pretty terrible hand to play with. We've been trying to make things better. You said it yourself. We're not nearly as black as we're painted. Petty pranks though...they aren't going to help anyone."

Alex reached out and pulled Fidelis into an embrace, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. "I know, I know," he said quietly, "I forget sometimes. Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw...we've never had to deal with the things you lot do." He placed a kiss on Fidelis' temple and asked, "Forgive me for being a moron?"

"Oh, I suppose," Fidelis said, one corner of his mouth creeping up in a half grin, "After all, you Hufflepuffs are just a bunch of duffers..."

Alex blinked and stared at the Slytherin for a solid second before laughing and saying, "I love you too, you cheeky little blighter."


End file.
